Phee, Marshall, her mother and that crazy group of seniors in Sun City West are back with a new mystery to solve. Summer is approaching fast in Sun City West and it is time to plan the “summer entertainment,” a giant 40,000 piece jigsaw puzzle to help the seniors forget about the heat. As the feisty group tries to decide which puzzle they are going to do, the puzzle chair person, Samantha, is found dead in the puzzle room at the library. Murder? Coincidently at the same time, the Detective Agency that Phee works with is assigned another murder, this one a very cold case. Are they related? As Marshall and Nate work on the cold case murder, of course Phee’s mother is coming up with all kinds of outrageous ideas to solve Samantha’s murder. I love this series and always look forward to seeing what kind of “trouble” the Sun City West crew can get themselves into! Even though it is a series, it is easily readable as a stand-alone, although you may end up wanting to read the complete series after reading the first one!

As a nurse in a nursing home and a cozy mystery lover I had to pick this up and it didn't disappoint! I loved the banter and antics of the characters, it was entertaining and kept me turning pages. Plus, you can't get much cuter than that cover!

Puzzled 4 Murder the 14th instalment in the Sophie Kimball Mystery series by J.C. Eaton. I love this series, it always has me laughing at Streetman’s and Phee’s mums antics. Soaring temperatures and a giant jigsaw puzzle combine to form a picture of murder . .

I found myself engrossed in the story and reading it in almost one day. I love the characters which are well developed. There is plenty of humour and we can’t forget Streetman the chiweenie in the library causing havoc with the puzzle pieces. I laughed at the chaos he caused.

The mystery is interesting, well plotted as well as full of twists and turns. Always an entertaining, fun read. This is one of my favourite series and I always buy in Paperback as I know I will read again.

I highly recommend this series to all my cozy loving friends.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I requested and received an advance reader copy of this book from Kensington Books and Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Sophie "Phee" Kimball-Gregory is married to Marshall Gregory, who works for Nate's private investigator agency as one of the investigators. Phee is their accountant, and unfortunately, her mother Harriet thinks that there are always murderers around the corner. Also unfortunately, she's usually right, which puts Phee in the position of having to give her 'tasks' to do to keep her out of the murder investigation.

This time out, the Sun City West retirees are taking part in constructing a giant forty-thousand-piece puzzle, and the finished product is going to be in the Senior Living magazine. But not everyone is happy about this: the puzzle that they're constructing is a last-minute replacement, since the three original choices no one wanted to do (seriously? A snowstorm?) This is an innocuous picture of an Arizona street...or is it?

It doesn't help that the body of one of the committee members is discovered in the library and Nate's firm is called in by the police to help investigate. Or that Nate is contacted by a woman who claims another woman killed her husband twenty years ago and she knows who it is, but not where she is now. Phee's task is to keep her mother away from both investigations, if possible...and it isn't...

Then when 'accidents' keep occurring at the library around the puzzle, and threatening messages are left, even Phee knows that something is off. Someone does not want that puzzle completed, but why? Harriet is determined that she and her friends finish it, because she's not giving up the chance to be in Senior Living. At least she's not able to bring her Chiweenie Streetman to the library. That's the best news Phee's heard in a long time. The 'little prince' causes chaos, and Phee has enough of that right now.

But when a major clue is revealed on air, and something else is discovered, not only does it upend everything, it puts Phee right in the middle of it. And not only does she not want to be, she wants to be as far away as possible...which isn't going to happen...

This is the fourteenth book in the series, and I have read them all. I have also loved them all. The author(s) have done a wonderful job in the character department. Harriet and her friends are a riot, especially Herb and her loony Aunt Ina. Poor Phee is the voice of reason -- that none of them listen to anyway.

Things get going right from the beginning, and it seems there are two murders to solve, both of which get Phee drawn into. In this book, I figured out most of it before the middle, but I love reading about Harriet and her antics, and Phee's attempts to rein her in, which make the book the most fun ever.

Reading this series makes you want to sit back and watch the action, because you know you don't want to be anywhere near the scary seniors, who think they're actual sleuths (they're not). There's always something going on, and it is a great enjoyment to read. The ending comes and it's way too soon; when we find the murderer the motives are given, and as old as time (as they all are everywhere). It's a funny climax and I couldn't ask for more. I look forward to the next in the series. Recommended.

I was given an advance copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.

Lots of fun antics in this cozy set in the retirement communities of sunny Arizona. Phee while working as the accountant at her husband's detective agency, tries to keep her retired mom and her entourage under control. This time the retirees are puzzling at the local library in order to be featured in a magazine. However, one of the puzzlers turns up dead at the library. It's then that the search for the killer begins! Lots of slapstick and humor ...Thanks to NetGakket and the publisher fo rthe arc.

I cannot get enough of this series. I loved this book. It was so much fun to read. Every time I pick up a Phee Kimball mystery, I know I will have a good time while reading it.

This book was funny to me because of the type of drama it had. My favorite character was obviously Streetman the chiweenie who in the midst of a puzzling murder mystery still found a way to cause even more chaos only Arby’s could cure and calm. The murder mystery itself was progressively more confusing as the story unraveled because the answer seemed so obvious.

A huge puzzle at the library is being put together, but it keeps getting sabotaged before much progress can be made. One of the puzzle committee ends up murdered and Williams Investigations is on the job. There's also a cold case that begins to heat up and keeps everyone guessing. Phee tries to reign in her mother and the book club but they continue to come up with wacky plans to catch the killer. A fun read, A little less over the top than usual, but all the characters are in rare form.
I received an advanced copy of the book in exchange for a review.

Puzzled 4 Murder is the latest mystery in the Phee Kimball mystery series. I adore this series! The humor in it usually has me laughing out loud before the first chapter is finished. The combination of quirky characters in this series are the best and if I am feeling down I can count on this series to give me a chuckle. Harriet (Phee’s Mom) and her group of senior citizen friends are working on a giant puzzle at the library in this books’ mystery and it features murder, mischief and some fun Streetman antics. The murder took awhile for me to figure out and I enjoyed the fun if improbable connections between the past and the current puzzle project at the library. I understand that James Clapp who was one half of this husband and wife writing team has passed away, but that the series will continue. My deepest sympathy to Ann Goldfarb and thank you to both of you for such an enjoyable series of books.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book. All opinions are my own.

This is book 14 in the Sophie Kimball mystery series. It works well as a standalone because the story is easy to follow and there aren’t any gaping holes from information in previous books that isn’t included in this one.

I love that the author paired the main character, Phee (Sophia) with her mom, Harriet, Harriett's somewhat bad dog Streetman, and Harriet’s friends: a group of seniors who have a lot of interesting personalities. If you’re in the midst of those child-rearing, working-for-a-living years, it almost seems as if these seniors might be having a lot more fun than you are. (You might very well be right!) However, it isn’t all fun and games when the seniors are helping to put together a very large crossword puzzle at the library, and the head of the puzzle committee ends up dead. The seniors try to solve the mystery of who killed her. Phee ends up being dragged into the action, and the seniors are a riot.

I thoroughly enjoyed the three books I read in this series, and I hope this one catches your eye because it is definitely worth reading!

Puzzled 4 Murder is set in the Sun City area and populated by eccentric, outrageous senior citizens. The main character works as the accountant at a PI firm (her husband is one of the detectives), and her mother and her friends drive her crazy and bring a lot of fun to the reader.
The library (popular for its air conditioning) has an immense puzzle for the puzzle club to work on during the hot Arizona desert summers. This year, no one can agree on a puzzle, a body is found in the library, and the puzzle keeps getting sabotaged! Couple that with a cold case and the madcap adventures of the seniors and you have a fun read with a good mystery.
Thanks to Beyond the Page Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC.

amateur-sleuth, Arizona, cozy-crime, bookkeeper, private-investigators, ChiWeenie-dog, husband-and-wife-team, teamwork, verbal-humor, situational-humor, retirees, retirement-community, relatives, friends, families, family-dynamics, friendship, frustration, laugh-riot, local-gossip, local-law-enforcement, murder, posse, relationships, jigsaw-puzzles, undercover, unpleasant-victims, sabotage*****
The story is every bit as much fun as the cover picture regardless of whether or not you've ever read any of the earlier books in the series! What could possibly go wrong when the retirement community
library hosts an event where participants work on a mammoth forty-thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle? Absolutely anything when the participants include (Sophie) Phee's mother and her ChiWeenie, Streetman, and the rest of the gaggle of friends. There is an abundance of plot twists and red herrings to sort through while laughing those sox off! Of course I loved it!
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected digital eGalley from Beyond the Page Publishing via NetGalley. Avail Feb 25, 2025
#Puzzled4Murder by @j.c.eaton #SophieKimballMysteriesBk14 #BeyondThePagePublishing
#NetGalley @goodreads @bookbub @librarythingofficial @barnesandnoble ***** Review #booksamillion #bookshop_org #bookshop_org_uk #kobo #Waterstones #laughyoursoxoff #retirementcommunity #ChiWeenie #Jigsawpuzzles #cozymysteries #murder #teamwork

Laugh out loud antics and scenes. Who knew putting together a giant sized jig-saw puzzle could be both so challenging and hilarious, not to mention filled with obstacles like vandalism and break-ins. As an Alaskan fairly accustomed to the earth moving beneath my feet, I had to chuckle out loud when the excuse of an earthquake was used to hide one of the efforts to halt the puzzle's construction. Toss in a second, long-cold case investigation that Marshall and Nate are dealing with and Sophie/Phee's mind is whirling. There's rarely a dull moment here in this largely dialogue driven plot and, if there is, it's a set up to an even more hilarious scheme or moment. Long time readers, never fear. Streetman gets lots of space.

I adore this series. While the characters are quirky and, oh, so opinionated, they somehow always come across as individuals that we'd like, albeit probably in small doses for many. Life in the retirement village of Sun City West in Arizona is certainly never dull. True, perhaps not good for ones blood pressure but never dull, especially if Phee's mother is around. Poor Phee. She seems to always be on the alert for the next phone call from her mother and whatever it may bring, which often involves not just her but Marshall and Nate's investigative company. Marshall, Phee's husband, seems to be a bit of a calm, amused voice of calm in the middle of what can often be described as chaos, the perfect balance for Phee's often fretful reactions. I mean, she's a woman who finds calm in the ordered realm of numbers, ie doing the firm's billing and accounting. Friend and office assistant Augusta seems to be fairly well grounded, too, but she has her moments, not to mention goofy theories. I guess when you word for a detective agency that this goes with the territory. Computer guru Rolo, a master hacker, er, computer investigator, always adds a bit of humor along with info that moves things along or throws up stop signs on some of the more outlandish theories. There are many, many other characters who pop in regularly so let's just say, while there are times they may tend to blend together during the fast paced scenes, they always bring something to the story, even Paul the fishing fanatic. As a group, they might make your head spin but, somehow, you'll enjoy every moment of time you spend with them.

.So, who killed Samantha? Why is someone trying to make sure that the jig-saw puzzle is never completed? Who'd care? Well, aside from the attention loving group involved from Sun City West? Who broke into the library in an effort to wreck what progress had been made on the over 4000 piece puzzle? Does Phee's mother have a plan to find out? Of course she does. Many, one of which involves, no lie, ghosts. Don't ask. Read. Can't forget Streetman, of course. That dog can get in more fixes than you can count, so will he be helpful or just a distraction? Or, knowing Streetman, downright destructive? And, oh, more than enough teasers. Trust me. I've only hit some high points. Lots more to keep you laughing and turning pages. Thanks #BeyondThePagePublishing for allowing me this early peek into the chaos surrounding Phee at pretty much any given time. Good thing she has that nice, cool pool to relax in.

#Puzzled4Murder #NetGalley is my favorite of the series so far.
Phee is never shocked by the wild things her mother gets involved in, so it's no surprise to find out that the puzzle club is piecing together a 42,000 piece puzzle. The only question is what puzzle will be chosen.
Not long after the club begins sorting the pieces, bizarre things begin to happen, and soon enough the quirky, colorful residents of Sun City West find themselves involved in another murder investigation.
These characters are really something else, there were many laugh out loud moments in this story.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.